Sectional cushion tire



July 8 1924. 1,500,307

A. A. GLIDDEN SECTIONAL CUSHION TIRE Filfid May 1923 2 Sheets-$heet 1 @9196! v9. Glidden, by WM 'July 8, 1924. 1,500,307

A. A. GLIDDEN SECTIONAL CUSHION TIRE Filed May 8, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uen Zor:

flwed J9. Gladden,

Patented July 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,500,301 PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED A. GLIDDEN, OF WATER-TOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO HOOD RUBBER COMPANY, OF WATEBTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION OF KASSAOHU:

SETTS.

SECTIONAL CUSHION TIRE.

Appllcatlon filed'xay 8, 1923. Serial No. 637,528.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED A. GLIDDEN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Watertown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sectional Cushion Tires, of which the followin is a specification.

y present invention relates to improvements in cushion tires of the type customa-i rily used for heavy motor vehicles, and the method of making the same.

Such motor trucks vary greatly in size and weight, and it has been customary to provide tires varying in width according to the size of the truck, which necessitates dealers carrying a much larger assortment of tires than would otherwise be necessary.

The presenfinvention aims to provide a tire composed of sections, more or less of which may be assembled upo rim, to provide a tire of the desired width, which two will have substantially the appearance of a unitary tire, and which Wlll be possessed of the requisite non-skid properties.

An embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which v Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of a portion of a tire constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showin a larger number of cushion sections assem led upon a wider rim to make a wider tire.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the intermediate rings, on a much smaller scale, and

Figs. 4 and 5, are similar views of modi-. fications.

Referring by reference characters to these drawin the numeral 1' designates the wheel filloe, which may be of the ordinary or any desired construction, the s kes which carry the felloe being omitt for simplicit of illustration. 2 designates the tire band, which is designed to carry the cushion sections, and which tire band, of course, corresponds in width to the width of tire desired.

Assembled on this tireband, in juxtaposed relation, or side by side, is a plurality of annular cushion tire elements comprising outer members for forming the side edges of the tire, and intermediate members which are variable in number, correspondn the wheel ing to the width of tire carrying band 2, or,

in other words, to the desired width of tire. Removable means must be provided for permitting the cushion tire elements to be applied to, or removed from, the band 2, and for holding them in place during service, and such means may take the form'of a clamp band 2 tap screws a, which confines the elements tween it and an abutment 2 on the opposite side, which latter is preferably in the form of a ring similar to 2 and removably held by tap screws 6.

The outer cushion elements comprise annular metal bands 3 which have an interior diameter corresponding to the exterior diameter of the band 2, and surrounding cushion rin s of .resilient material such as rubber, re erabtlgza in turn comprising relatively ard' ru r inner portions .4 and relatively softouter portions 4' vulcanized to ther and to the ringB.

etween these margm forming members is, or are, arran ed one or more intermediate cushion tire e ements, each of which com-s prises a carrying band 5, surrounding layer of hard rubber 5 and outertread portion 5, all vulcanized together, and the tread portionof each section isgprovided with a plurality of transverse recesses which may of substantially rectangular form, as mdicated at 6, Fig. 3, or of V-shaped form, as shown at 7 in Fig. 4, or' a combination of alternating wide and narrow slots or re-' ceases, as shown at 6 and 6, Fig. 5, or of an other shape desired.

en a plurality of these intermediate sections are used, the slots are arranged out of alignment, or in -staggered relation, as shown.

B the construction above described, 1 pro uce a tire composed of sections WhlOh E ring 2 secured to one side ofthe may be carried in stock and more or less of them readily assembled upon wide or narrow carrying rims, according to the size of tire desired.

I also efiect a' material reduction in the cost of production due to the fact, first, that the manufacturer does not have to carry so large a stock of molds, or such large molds as are required for the larger sizes of tires, and second, that I can secure the pockets or non-skid recesses, by a sim l'er form of mold and one that is easier an less expensive to manufacture.

When a tire, such as above described, runs over an obstruction in the road, the rings, being separate units, adjust themselves more readily to the contour of the obstruction and do not produce so much of a strain on the tire composition as in a unit tire. If a ring is badly injured, the tire can be disassembled and a new ring substituted for the injured one.

Beneficial vulcanization efi'ects also result from this construction as a large tire, say 10, 12 or 14: inch, has such a large mass of composition on it that it takes a longtime for the heat to penetrate into the interior of the mass; in fact, inasmuch as the heat is radiated from the inside face of a mold through the outside of the tire, it is practi- By dividing it up into these rings, lfi" cant has less material to vulcanize, and get an even vulcanization throughout the mass and do it in less time. Furthermore, by using double molds, less space in the vulcanizer is re uired.

Havin t us described my invention, what I c aim is 2- 1. In a sectional cushion tire and in combination, an annular -carrying rim having removable tire retaining means at one edge thereof, and a sectional cushion tire removably carried therebv and comprisin a plurality of annular members, each 0 which in turn comprises an annular metal carrying band and an annular cushion tire section fast thereon, certain of said tire sections havin transversely disposed grooves or recesses 1n their peripheries.

2. In a sectional cushion tire, and in combination, an annular carrying rim having removable tire retaining means at one edge, and a removable sectional cushion tire carried thereby comprising a plurality of annular carr ing bands overlying said rim and juxtaposed to each other, the outside bands carrying cushion rings having continuous peripheries, and the intermediate bands carrying cushion rings provided with transversely recessed peripheries.

3. In a sectional cushion tire, and in combination, an annular carrying rim having,

removable tire retaining means at one edge,

, and a removable sectional cushion tire carried thereby comprising a plurality of annular carrying bands overlying said rim and juxtaposed to each other, the outside bands carrying cushion rings having continuous peripheries, and the intermediate bands carrying cushion rings provided with transversely recessed peripheries, said intermediate rings being arranged with their respective recesses 1n staggered relation.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signv ture; I

ALFRED A. GLIDDEN. 

